Seat Belts

On Friday, a 5-year-old kindergarten student was laid to rest in an Indianapolis cemetery. Little Miss Donasty, as she was called in her obituary, died when her school bus struck a concrete pillar on Monday. Her 60-year-old bus driver, Thomas Spencer II, also died. Ten students were taken to the hospital; two were in critical condition. Initial media reports indicated that one of the students had been thrown from the bus and trapped under a wheel. Perhaps no seat belt restraint would have prevented the tragedy.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- With 8- to 12-year-olds dying at a rate of more than one a day in automobile crashes, safety groups are pushing for more youngsters to remain belted in the back seat. In the past, safety experts have focused their attention on getting younger children into child safety seats and booster seats to keep them secure and protect them in crashes. But a report released today by the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety raises questions about how frequently "tweens" -- children between ages 8 and 12 -- are wearing their seat belts and whether they're sitting snugly in the back seat.

Officials are calling the drop in U.S. highway deaths in 2008 a silver lining to the bad economy. The recession added to high gasoline prices resulted in a 9.1 percent drop in traffic fatalaties, to 37,313, the fewest since 1961. Tough economic times in past years brought similar declines in roadway deaths. But the new figures also reflect state safety efforts, particularly the push to enforce seat belt use. In Michigan, where the law now allows police officers to stop a motorist solely for not wearing a safety belt in the front seat of a vehicle, belt use is the nation's highest, 97 percent.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Smokers will pay more to puff and almost everyone will be required to wear seat belts under dozens of new state laws that take effect today. Lawmakers raised the cigarette tax for the second time in five years, this time from 55.5 cents per pack to 99.5 cents. Smokers won't like the hike, but Gov. Mitch Daniels does. The state plans to use the extra money -- and hopefully matching federal dollars -- to provide health insurance to more than 100,000 low-income Hoosiers and finance other health initiatives.

MORRISVILLE, N.C. -- The nation's top transportation official wants more students buckled up while riding school buses, but the numbers show children are already safer on the bus than off. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters promised Monday that federal highway safety dollars would be freed up for school districts that want to install seat belts on school buses. But statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show an average of 19 children are killed each year getting on and off the school bus. Most of those killed are children between 5 and 7 years old. The statistic shows that most of those children are killed by a passing vehicle or by the school bus itself.

Police credit seat belts with saving two men from being seriously injured in a crash Thursday afternoon in Logansport. Indiana State Police and the Cass County SheriffÂ?s Department responded to a two-vehicle collision at 2:19 p.m. in the 4200 block of Logansport Road. Police cited Miguel Delatorre Jr., 20, of Logansport, with driving left of center and driving with a suspended license. Police say Delatorre was driving eastbound when he lost control of his 2004 Nissan Maxima and struck a guard rail on the south side of the road.

Even the head coach who's been around the Big East men's basketball block couldn't help himself. Notre Dame's Mike Brey counseled his players before they scattered for home last week to steal a few days and unwind, not to think about what's on the horizon. He vowed to do the same, at least until after Christmas. But when asked about his team's 18-game Big East schedule in a conference that boasts eight nationally-ranked squads, Brey got rolling, and didn't seem to want to stop. "We have so much power on our schedule coming in our league," said Brey, whose team carries a 9-2 record and No. 8 national ranking into conference play Wednesday at DePaul.

Perhaps you've seen the TV public service announcement where beer gushes out of the driver's car window as an officer pulls him over. You've heard of more friends designating a sober driver before heading out to bars or house parties. You fasten your seat belt without even thinking about it anymore. And your car has airbags if it was built within the past decade. It all seems to have added up to something positive this year on Indiana roads: fewer deaths. Through Dec. 28, just 680 people were killed statewide in traffic crashes in 2009, more than 16 percent lower than last year's 814 deaths.

LARWILL, Ind. (AP) ? Authorities say none of the four Kentucky residents killed this week in a northern Indiana crash were wearing a seat belts when the car in which they were riding slammed head-on into a sport-utility vehicle. The Whitley County Sheriff's Department says the driver, 27-year-old Richard Rardin of Clay City, Ky., tried to pass in a no-passing zone Tuesday on Indiana 5 near the community of Larwill when the crash happened. Rardin died of head and internal injuries. Also killed in the crash about 30 miles west of Fort Wayne were 29-year-old Amanda Hollon of Winchester, Ky., and 34-year-old Shara Means and 21-year-old Shannel Gabbard of Stanton, Ky. The SUV's driver was taken to a hospital with leg injuries.

VANDALIA -- Four Cass County residents were taken to area hospitals after a two-car crash on Calvin Center Road near Chain Lake Street. Deputies with the Cass Sheriff's Office reported Wayne Barber Jr., 57, of Cassopolis, was driving north on Calvin Center just before 7 p.m. Saturday when an auto operated by Delbert Wilson, 52, of Dowagiac, crossed into Barber's lane. Officers said Barber was taken to Memorial Hospital, South Bend, and Wilson, his wife, Michelle, 52, and their daughter, Diana, 23, to Elkhart General Hospital.

NILES -- A Niles man was injured Friday in a car-semi-truck accident at Michigan 60 and Lilac Street in Howard Township, east of Niles. The Cass County Sheriff's Office said Ronald Baker, 44, was in the process of crossing northbound M-60 on Lilac about 10:30 a.m. when his auto traveled into the path of the westbound semi driven by Eric Snover, 33, of Holland, Mich. Baker suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to Lakeland Community Hospital in Niles. Snover was not injured, police said.

An Edwardsburg man died late Friday after a two-vehicle crash on Michigan 62, two-tenths of a mile north of Hess Road. According to Ontwa Township-Edwardsburg Police Chief Kenneth Wray, Don Myers, 87, of Edwardsburg, was pronounced dead at the scene by the Cass County Medical Examiner. Myers was driving a Ford Ranger when it collided with a Toyota Sienna at 11:22 p.m. Friday. The driver of the Toyota, William Jay, 44, was taken to Memorial Hospital in South Bend. His condition was not available Saturday.

LAPORTE -- A former LaPorte Common Council member, apparently attempting to avoid a third ticket for a seat belt violation, is accused of trying to elude police at high speeds early Thursday. Tim Stabosz was later asked to resign his position on the mayor's Historic Preservation Commission. "I commend Mr. Stabosz for the service he wants to offer to the city but I think there are certain standards that we must purport to represent the city in the best way," said Mayor Blair Milo.

New Year's Eve is considered one of the most dangerous nights of the year on the road, but nobody was arrested for drunken driving in all of St. Joseph County. Lt. Tim Williams, commander of the county's DUI Taskforce, said between 6 p.m. Dec. 31 and 6 a.m. Jan. 1, police didn't arrest anyone for driving drunk. Williams said several drivers were ticketed for other offenses, such as driving with a suspended license, speeding, ignoring traffic lights and failure to wear their seat belts.

SOUTH BEND -- South Bend police are investigating an early morning crash on the east side of the city Wednesday that injured two people. Police said around 3 a.m., 19-year-old Matthew McCollum, of South Bend, lost control of his vehicle and hit a tree as he was heading north on Sunnyside Avenue, crossing Bronson Street. Both McCollum and a passenger, David Jastrzembski, 37, of South Bend, were trapped inside the vehicle. Police said McCollum suffered leg and foot injuries, and Jastrzembski suffered serious leg injuries.

EDWARDSBURG -- Police said a 29-year-old Edwardsburg man was killed just before 2 a.m. Thursday when his car left the road and struck a tree, WSBT reported. The Thanksgiving morning crash happened on Conrad Road just south of May Street. A passing driver noticed the wreck and called 911. Dead is Caleb A. Marcin. Police said he was traveling at a high rate of speed when the crash happened. They also said they believe alcohol was involved. Seat belts were used and airbags did deploy, said police.

DOWAGIAC -- Alcohol was not a factor in a crash early Sunday that sent five area teenagers to local hospitals, the Cass County Sheriff's Office reported. Police said Devin Cromer 17, of St. Joseph, was driving west on Downey Street, west of Red Mill Road, about 4:30 a.m. when he was distracted and his auto ran off the road and hit a tree. Cromer and four passengers, identified as Maggie Denly, 16, Vendela Hale, 17, and Tori Smith, 16, all of Dowagiac, and Eau Claire resident Logan Martin, whose age was not reported, were injured, police said.

CASSOPOLIS -- Two area motorists were transported via ambulance to a local hospital after their autos collided Thursday at Pokagon Highway and Dailey Road. A Cass County Sheriff's Department report identified them as Kathleen Latour, 77, of Berrien Springs, and Fay Miller, 68, of Niles. Their injuries weren't believed to be life-threatening. Police said Latour was driving east on Pokagon when the Miller auto pulled out in front of her. Seat belts were fastened and alcohol was not a factor, police said.

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) -- Surely you've seen the television commercials or passed by the billboards touting the importance of using seat belts: They saved an estimated 12,546 lives in 2010 alone, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. "Click It or Ticket," the campaign slogan goes. No excuses. No exceptions. "I put mine on as soon as I get in the car. It's a no-brainer," Lafayette resident Amber Murphy said. "You never know what can happen when you're driving.